Method of Making a Filler Neck Housing Assembly

ABSTRACT

A method of making a filler neck housing assembly. A reinforcement bracket having a ring-shaped portion and a reinforcement flange is assembled to a housing panel that defines a recessed area inside a body outer panel. The reinforcement bracket includes door stop flanges and hinge attachment flanges to which a fuel door is attached by a hinge and hinge bracket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/555,446,filed Nov. 1, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of making a fuel filler neckhousing that includes a bracket for reinforcing the fuel door and hingeconnection to the housing assembly.

2. Background Art

Gasoline and diesel fuel vehicles have a fuel tank that is filledthrough a filler neck. The filler neck is received in a housing that isattached to the inside of an opening in a body outer panel. The openingin the body outer panel is selectively closed by a fuel door that may beconnected by a hinge to the housing assembly.

There are several problems that may be attendant to the structure andfunction of the fuel door and filler neck housing assembly. The fueldoor must be sufficiently robust to accommodate over-extension forceswithout causing permanent deformation in the body outer panel. On manyvehicles, the body outer panel is manufactured using 0.7-0.8 mm thicksteel. Substantial thinning of the steel may cause the body outer panelto be subject to permanent deformation in the mounting surface if thebody outer panel is designed to include a relatively deep draw area.

One potential solution to the deformation problem is to use heaviergauge sheet metal for the body outer panel or fuel filler neck housing,but this adds weight to the vehicle. Alternatively, a heavier gaugebracket may be attached to the fuel housing, but this also may addweight to the vehicle. Adding weight to a vehicle is generallyconsidered to be undesirable from the standpoint of fuel economy.

Another problem associated with fuel doors and filler neck housingassemblies is that the component parts of the assembly are exposed towater and salt that may lead to corrosion of hinges and other parts ofthe assembly. Conventional, or piano-type, hinges are particularlysubject to corrosion. Other parts in the fuel filler housing, such as aspring-loaded plunger mounted on the fuel housing to hold the door shut,may be subject to corrosion.

Fuel door assemblies include class A surfaces that must meet stringentfit and finish requirements. Some fuel door mounting structures may posean ergonomic challenge if the fasteners used to secure the door andhinge assembly to the filler neck housing assembly are difficult toaccess. Some fuel door mounting structures include weld nuts that arelocated on the back of the filler neck housing assembly that may bedifficult to align with fasteners to secure the door and hinge to thebracket.

These and other problems are addressed by this invention as summarizedbelow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a filler neck housingassembly is provided for a vehicle having a gas tank filler neckdefining a fuel fill opening through which fuel is provided to a fueltank. The assembly comprises a housing having an open end that isassembled to an opening in a body outer panel of the vehicle. The fillerneck is received through a wall of the housing. The wall of the housingis recessed relative to the open end of the housing. A support bracketincluding a ring-shaped portion is assembled to the housing adjacent tothe open end of the housing. The fuel fill opening is accessed throughthe ring-shaped portion of the support bracket. A hinge is attached tothe support bracket and a door is movable on the hinge between an openposition in which the opening in the body outer panel is uncovered and aclosed position in which the opening in the body outer panel is covered.

According to other aspects of the invention, the support bracket mayhave a reinforcement flange that extends radially outwardly from thering. The hinge is secured to the reinforcement flange. The hinge may bea goose-neck hinge that includes an over-center spring that biases thedoor towards the open position when the door is opened and that biasesthe door towards the closed position when the door is closed. Thesupport bracket reinforces the open end of the housing on all sides ofthe housing. A force applied to the door when the door is opened istransferred to the attachment flange, the ring, and the housing.

According to another aspect of the invention, a filler neck housingassembly is provided for a vehicle that has a fuel cover door attachedto a hinge for covering an opening in a body outer panel. The assemblycomprises a housing panel that defines a recessed enclosure for a fillerneck of a gas tank. The housing panel has an open side that is securedabout the opening of the body outer panel. A reinforcement bracket isattached to the housing panel between the housing panel and the bodyouter panel. The reinforcement panel includes a ring-shaped portion thatdefines a fuel nozzle opening. The reinforcement panel also has a hingereinforcement flange on one side of the ring-shaped portion to which thehinge is secured.

According to other aspects of the invention, the housing panel may havea flange that is secured to the body outer panel in a face-to-facerelationship. The flange defines an indentation that receives thering-shaped portion and the hinge reinforcement flange of thereinforcement panel. The assembly may further comprise a hingeattachment flange that extends radially inwardly from the ring-shapedportion of the reinforcement bracket and is adjacent to the hingereinforcement flange. At least one door stop member may be attached to adoor stop attachment flange. The door stop attachment flange extendsradially inwardly from the ring-shaped portion of the reinforcementflange and is spaced from the hinge reinforcement flange.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided forassembling a filler neck housing assembly to a vehicle. The methodcomprises assembling the filler neck to the wall of the housing. Asupport bracket having a ring-shaped portion and a reinforcement flangeis attached to the housing adjacent to an open end of the housing. Thering-shaped portion extends around the filler neck and is axially spacedfrom the filler neck. The open end of the housing is attached to anopening in a body outer panel of the vehicle so that the filler neck isaccessible through the open end of the housing. A hinge and doorassembly are attached to the reinforcement flange of the supportbracket.

According to other aspects of the method of the present invention, anover-center spring may be attached to the hinge and door assembly. Atleast one door stop flange extends radially inwardly from the ring ofthe bracket and is spaced from the reinforcement flange. The method mayfurther comprise attaching a door stop to each door stop flange.

The method may further comprise attaching the support bracket to thehousing by welding the support bracket to the housing. The open end ofthe housing may be welded to the opening in the body outer panel of thevehicle. According to the method, the step of attaching the hinge anddoor assembly to the attachment flange may be performed by securing thehinge and door assembly with removable fasteners after the open end ofthe housing is attached to the opening in the body outer panel.According to other aspects of the method of the present invention, thesupport bracket may include a ring and an attachment flange wherein themethod further comprises forming at least one door stop flange thatextends radially inwardly from the ring and forming at least one doorattachment flange that extends radially inwardly from the ring at alocation that is spaced from the door stop flange. The step of formingthe ring, attachment flange, door stop flange, and door attachmentflange may be performed in a single series of stamping operations.

Other aspects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art in view of the attached drawings and the followingdetailed description of the illustrated embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the fuel fillerneck housing assembly relative to the body and gas tank of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the filler neck housing assembly;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the filler neck housingassembly and a fuel door that is connected to the housing assembly by ahinge;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a reinforcement bracket of the fillerneck housing assembly; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the reinforcement bracket of thefiller neck housing assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring to FIG. 1, a filler neck housing assembly is generallyindicated by reference numeral 10. The filler neck housing assembly 10is part of a vehicle 12 and is secured to a body outer panel 14 of thevehicle 12. A fuel tank 16 is also part of the vehicle 12 and isrefilled through a filler neck 18 that extends between the filler neckhousing assembly 10 and the fuel tank 16. A fuel door 20 is secured tothe vehicle 12 by a hinge 22 so that the fuel door 20 may be movedbetween open and closed positions.

The filler neck housing assembly 10 includes a housing panel 26 thatdefines a recessed area 30 in which the filler neck 18 is accessible. Areinforcement bracket 28, or support bracket, is assembled to thehousing panel 26 to reinforce the housing panel 26 and also reinforcesthe body outer body panel 14.

Referring to FIG. 2, the filler neck housing assembly 10 is shown withthe reinforcement bracket 28 assembled to the housing panel 26. Therecessed area 30 is defined by the housing panel 26 and creates a pocketwhen assembled to the body outer panel 14 (shown in FIG. 1). The housingpanel 26 has a filler neck receiving opening 32 in which the filler neck18 (shown in FIG. 1) is received.

The housing panel 26 also includes an attachment flange 34 that iswelded to the body outer panel 14. The attachment flange 34 is welded tothe body outer panel 14. An indentation 36 is formed in the housingpanel 26 to receive the reinforcement bracket 28.

The reinforcement bracket 28 includes a ring-shaped portion 40 thatdefines a nozzle receiving opening 42. The ring-shaped portion 40extends around the filler neck receiving opening 32 with the nozzlereceiving opening 42 being axially spaced from the filler neck receivingopening 32. The reinforcement bracket 28 includes a reinforcement flange44 on one side of the ring-shaped portion 40.

Hinge attachment flanges 46 extend radially inwardly relative to thenozzle receiving opening 42. Door stop flanges 48 are also provided onthe ring-shaped portion 40 and extend radially inwardly from the nozzlereceiving opening 42.

Referring to FIG. 3, the filler neck housing assembly 10 is shown withthe fuel door 20 and hinge 22 subassembly. The housing panel 26 andreinforcement bracket 28 are shown separated from each other. Thehousing panel 26 defines a recessed area 30 in which the filler neckreceiving opening 32 is formed. The housing panel 26 also includes anattachment flange 34 that is abutted against the body outer panel 14.The indentation 36 is formed in the attachment flange 34 and receivesthe reinforcement bracket 28. The reinforcement bracket 28 has aring-shaped portion 40 that defines a nozzle receiving opening 42. Areinforcement flange 44 extends in the forward vehicle direction fromthe ring-shaped portion 40.

Hinge attachment flanges 46 extend inwardly relative to the ring-shapedportion 40. The door stop flanges 48 also extend radially inwardly fromthe ring-shaped portion 40. Door stops 56 are shown in FIG. 3 that areassembled to the door stop flanges 48.

The fuel door 20 and hinge 22 are assembled to a hinge bracket 50 thatis in turn assembled to the hinge attachment flanges 46. An over-centerspring 52 is assembled to the hinge and hinge bracket 50. Theover-center spring 52 biases the door 20 to its open position as thedoor is opened and, conversely, biases the fuel door 20 to its closedposition as the fuel door is closed. The hinge bracket 50 is connectedto the hinge attachment flanges 46 by bolts 58 and weld nuts 60 thatsecure the hinge bracket 50 to the hinge attachment flanges 46.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the reinforcement bracket 28 is shown inisolation. The reinforcement bracket 28 has a ring-shaped portion 40that extends around the nozzle receiving opening 42. The reinforcementflange 44 extends radially outwardly relative to the ring-shaped portion40 on one side. The hinge attachment flanges 46 and door stop flanges 48are also formed on the reinforcement bracket 28. The reinforcementbracket 28 which includes all of the elements shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 isformed in a sheet metal forming process wherein the reinforcementbracket 28 is drawn, trimmed and formed in a single set of sheet metalforming operations.

One method of assembling the filler neck housing assembly 10 to thevehicle 12 comprises assembling the filler neck 18 to the wall of thehousing 26. The support bracket 28 including the ring shaped portion 40and the reinforcement flange 44 is assembled to the housing adjacent toan open end of the housing 26 with the ring shaped portion 40 extendingaround the filler neck 18 in an axially spaced relationship relative tothe filler neck. The open end of the housing 26 is attached to anopening in a body outer panel 14 of the vehicle 12 so that the fillerneck is accessible through the open end of the housing 26. The hinge 22and door 20 assembly is attached to the reinforcement flange 44 of thesupport bracket 28.

The method may further comprise attaching the over-center spring 52 tothe hinge 22 and door 20 assembly. The method may also include providingthe door stop flanges 48 that extends radially inwardly from the ringshaped portion 40 of the bracket 28 in a location that is spaced fromthe attachment bracket 28 and attaching the door stops 56 to each of thedoor stop flanges 48.

The step of attaching the support bracket 28 to the housing 26 mayfurther comprise welding the support bracket 28 to the housing 26. Thestep of attaching the open end of the housing 26 to an opening in a bodyouter panel 14 of the vehicle 12 may also further comprise welding thehousing 26 to the body outer panel 14.

The step of attaching the hinge 22 and door assembly 20 to theattachment flange 44 of the support bracket 28 may be performed afterthe open end of the housing 26 is attached to the opening in the bodyouter panel 14 by securing the hinge and door assembly with removablefasteners 58.

The support bracket 28 includes the ring 40 and the attachment flange 44in which the door stop flange 48 is formed to extend radially inwardlyfrom the ring 40 at a location that is spaced from the door stop flange48. The step of forming the ring 40, the attachment flange 44, the doorstop flange 48, and the door attachment flange 46 may performed in asingle series of stamping operations. While the best mode for carryingout the invention has been described in detail, those familiar with theart to which this invention relates will recognize various alternativedesigns and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by thefollowing claims.

1. A method of assembling a filler neck housing assembly to a vehicle,the method comprising: assembling a filler neck to a wall of a housing;attaching a support bracket having a ring shaped portion and areinforcement flange to the housing adjacent to an open end of thehousing with the ring shaped portion extending around the filler neckand being axially spaced from the filler neck; attaching the open end ofthe housing to an opening in a body outer panel of the vehicle, whereinthe filler neck is accessible through the open end of the housing; andattaching a hinge and door assembly to the reinforcement flange of thesupport bracket.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising attachingan over-center spring to the hinge and door assembly.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 providing at least one door stop flange that extends radiallyinwardly from the ring of the bracket in at least one location that isspaced from the attachment bracket and attaching a door stop to eachdoor stop flange.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of attachingthe support bracket to the housing further comprises welding the supportbracket to the housing.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step ofattaching the open end of the housing to an opening in a body outerpanel of the vehicle further comprises welding the housing to the bodyouter panel.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of attaching thehinge and door assembly to the attachment flange of the support bracketis performed after the open end of the housing is attached to theopening in the body outer panel by securing the hinge and door assemblywith removable fasteners.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprisingforming the support bracket that includes a ring and an attachmentflange, and further comprises forming at least one door stop flange thatextends radially inwardly from the ring and at least one door attachmentflange that extends radially inwardly from the ring at a location thatis spaced from the door stop flange.
 8. The method of claim 7 whereinthe step of forming the ring, the attachment flange, the door stopflange, and door attachment flange are formed in a single series ofstamping operations.